A Guide To Planning A Trip

Recently, I had to make a short trip to Bangalore. It was for 2 days and 2 nights total. Keeping a few things in mind while packing for the trip ensured that my trip to Bangalore was relatively stress free.

I am listing them for your perusal.

Plan your trip in detail

Create a list of the itinerary before you embark on the trip. And plan how you will go about doing it. What places you will see, the purpose of your visit etc. And stick to the plan once you get there. This will remove half the trouble.

For example, what mode of transport are you going to use – Bus, Train, Plane etc. Have you already booked the tickets for the to and fro journey ?

If traveling by bus, I find aisle seats are far more comfortable than seats near the windows. On buses all odd numbered seats are aisle seats and even numbered are window seats.

Where are you going to stay when you reach the place ? Does it fit in your budget … and so on.

Research on the net and collect the following information -

Emergency phone numbers – Hospital, and Nearest police station (to call if you get into some trouble with the locals).

Identify help services you can call if you want directions to go to a certain area or search for something.

For example, in Bangalore, there are two such services.

The first one is “Just Dial”. If you want to get answers to your queries – such as, find out if a museum is open in Bangalore, or want to know how to get to certain place in Bangalore city, you just call their number (08069999999) and they will send you a reply as SMS.

The second service called Latlong acts as a poor man’s GPS. It will point out the area where you are in Bangalore. Just send an SMS “help” to 9008890088 to start using this service.

Always carry most useful medicines with you when you travel. This can be Paracetamol tablets, Cough syrup, medicine to treat diarrhea etc. Sometimes, even in a major city (like Bangalore), you may be forced to walk a few blocks to find a pharmacy. You can avoid this hassle if you take all the important medicines with you.

Create a check list of items you will need

Create a list of items you will require in your trip and take them along. This will save you time and money required to buy them when the need arises.

These are the list of things I took with me when I visited Bangalore for 2 days.

• Tooth brush & Tooth paste
• Bath towel & Bathing soap
• Shirt & Trouser – 3 sets each
• Inner wear – Vest & Brief – 3 sets each
• Hand towel – 3 nos
• Medicines (Paracetamol tablets)
• Shaving set – Learn how to shave if you don’t know how .
• Washing soap – 1 nos
• Camera – with 2 sets of extra batteries and a battery charger.
• Sony Walkman – Fully charged for recording purposes.
• An identity document – Can be your driving license, Voter’s ID card, etc. Can come in handy.
• A pen and book – to jot down daily expenditure.
• Reading material – Can be a magazine, novel, comics etc to while away time if necessary.
• Water – Fill water in a bottle from home. You can save buying 1 Ltr bottled water that costs Rs 16.
• Mobile phone and its charger.
• Wallet – With enough money for the trip. You can also carry debit cards. But you might run into places where they don’t accept debit cards.
• Ear plugs and eye shades (optional)

Next pack all items in your bag. There is a technique to packing your bag the right way. This will ensure your ironed clothes remain neat and clean.

Once you reach your destination and have checked into a hotel room you should remember the following things.

Before you venture out of your hotel, make sure to eat a hearty meal. This will help you control the temptation of snacking from road side eateries. This is especially true if you are on a pleasure trip.

Snacking costs money!

Believe me, when ever I venture out to see places, I end up buying lots of street food which adds up to my expenses.

If your travel plan includes lots of trips on public city bus, see if they provide bus passes. Taking a bus pass will save you money as it allows unlimited travel for a set duration usually between 3 days to a month without any additional payment.

I hope the tips I have provided in this article will be useful for you when you decide to go on a trip somewhere.